continues to focus on the president's comments about job creators in small business. not building their success on their own and the rnc seizing on reports that the president's job council has been mia. here's the romney rnc campaign ad. the one-two punch. >> you didn't build that. somebody else made that happen. >> my father's hands didn't build this company? my hands didn't build this company? my son's hands aren't building this company? did somebody else take out the loan on my father's house to finance the equipment? >> no there was no specific reason except the president has a lot on his plate. topping off this battle over business x, weekly job numbers out show jobless claims rising 34,000 to 386,000. joining me now is tim miller,

deputy communications director for the republican national committee. tim, it's nice to see you this morning. >> tom, great to be with you. >> republicans are jumping on team romney's strategy highlighting the small business comments. to be clear, the president actually said that businesses don't get there alone, that they need help. it's not in a vacuum that they operate. today we have these new reports from the l.a. times and the chicago trib saying that bain capital and mitt romney at the helm got help raising a third of its initial investment funds from wealthy foreigners most of the money through corporations registered in panama. some of the most secretive of business laws exist there in panama. does that story prove the president's points, that business leaders don't come by successful initiatives on their own? >> well, i think certainly not, tom. i think the recent polls you've cited have shown that the president's false attacks on mitt romney aren't working right now and the people care about the economy. i want to turn to your point about the context of the president's you didn't build that remark. there was a good article by phil klein this morning saying that

the contextually made that comment worse. if you look at the whole speech and what he's arguing, it's that the way that we're going to fix this economy, the way that we're going to get out of this ditch is through more government and not by unleashing the private sector. his argument was that people, small business owners, you're not that smart, you didn't work that hard, you didn't earn that. it happened because of the government. that's the wrong way to look at our economy right now. it's shown over the last three years about his policies and the ones that he's put in place and they haven't worked for fixing the economy. that's why we need to go a new direction and go with someone who is going to unleash entrepreneurs to create jobs and be innovative like the american way. >> so tim, rnc chair, he's bg to be in philly on the part of the president by highlighting the car maker fiscal ker which your party says is moving american jobs to finland. governor romney spoke about this yesterday. take a listen. >> if you happen to have been a large campaign contributor to

the obama campaign, why, you may have found yourself able to receive a government guarantee or loan. there have been some like solyndra, fiscalker, tesla, that have received $500,000 each. it's only coincidental that they're contributors to obama's campaign. we loaned -- when i say we loaned them, i mean taxpayers loaned them $500 million and guess where they make their cars? finland. >> fact checker finds that they applied for the loan under the bush administration, was given the loan under a program. again, started under the bush administration. also, the only reason why team romney is able to target who fisker is because the bundt letters that are supporting president obama, their names have been released. mitt romney's bundlers have not been released. we don't know the money going into that team. is the rnc saying that mitt

romney is releasing their bundler information? >> you made a lot of points there. i want to correct a few things. when it comes to fisker. there are a number of items that went to them that were a part of this project. president obama and joe biden himself, this is in the vice president's home state, promised that there was going to be a fisker automotive plant that took over the old gm plant in delaware. it was going to create jobs in pennsylvania and delaware. that's why chairman priebus is there to talk approximate this. even though they received taxpayer money. instead, the company is building jobs overseas in finland. this was part of a number of examples of stimulus money that went to companies that ended up buying products from overseas companies. you don't have to take my word for you. sharon brown, a democrat from ohio, chuck schumer had a great quote about this where he said it's enough to make your blood boil that all of this was going

overseas. you know, the facts when it comes to fisker are clear, and that's why chairman priebus is there to talk about president obama's own spending of tax dollars over seas. >> will mitt romney be releasing the information on who his supporters are, who his bundlers are? >> we were talking about yesterday a guy named steve wesley. this is very public. steve wesley was the california finance chair for barack obama. he had four companies that ended up getting over half a billion dollars -- >> tim, you're calling out the president for crony capitalism and you're not going to reveal anything for who the bundlers are and you're not pressing mitt romney on revealing any of who his bundlers are. so we the american people might not know who is supporting him and he then, crony capitalismwise, like you're saying the president is doing would have if he's president.

isn't that hypocritical. >> like barack obama's donor public, you're not comparing apples to apples here. >> fisker is a bundler, is that wrong? >> no, that's not true. steve wesley, who had four companies, that fisker want one them, he was a california finance chair. because he was bragging about access to -- >> he was a bundler, right? you told me i was wropg but he is a bundler, correct? >> you're wrong with the fist ker situation. >> i'm right that he's a bundler? >> you're can flating two things. >> i'm asking, is he a bundle error not? he is. you told me i was wrong then confirmed my point he was a bundler. is mitt mt going to release who his bundlers are? >> all of his donors are public. >> not his bundlers?

>> like president obama did, go into the white house, start giving out taxpayer money to all of his donors and to a bunch of pet projects. the dnc's only spokesman said they were giving out stimulus money that went overseas for pet projects. you know, all of this stuff is transparent. when you look at fisker, that's not a bundler issue. they promised there would be jobs to pennsylvania. they didn't go to pennsylvania, they twoent finland. i agree with chuck schumer, it's enough to make your blood boil. >> do you think the bundlers need to be revealed? >> you continue to ask this question. as i've said, mitt romney, all of his donors are public. just like all barack obama's donors are public. you can go online and see them. where i -- >> the bundlers are online? >> the american people outraged when their tax money is given to donors on the -- of president obama. people who have special access and that's exactly what president obama promised he would not do in 2008.

that's exactly what he's doing to the tune of over half a billion dollars just in one example. >> rnc deputy communications director, tim miller. thank you for your time. >> i'm going to be talking to brad woodhouse, did the nc communications director at the half hour. we'll bring in the power panel. opinion writer for the washington post. msnbc contributor, jimmy williams and susan dell percent yoe. hail hail, the gang is all here. everybody is in one place. jimmy your reaction to tim the conversation with tim? >> i don't think he answered your question. you could have asked it 17 different other ways and i don't think he would have answered it. i don't blame him. i wouldn't either. there is a problem here. a smidge of hypocrisy. obama is remarkably transparent about who his bundlers are. everyone knows who they are. wean he wooent dough who mitt romney's bundlers are.

wk find all the people who donated to his campaign. i will say this. he was a bit disingenuous. the theory that you can't find his bundlers because he won't show them, he's not doing that. obama is. there's a stark difference. >> you have such a calming voice that's helping me. >> susan -- >> don't be fooled. >> susan, how romney has fired back on the calls for his tax returns, calling it the avoid the shiny object strategy. romney's force of action is irritating conservatives and confound the media leading to significant questions of his campaign strategy. but there's a lot more to the campaign than the shiny object that dominates news coverage. the romney campaign is wagering that the shiny objects will lose most or all of their luster by election day. is that what the romney campaign is doing, running down the clock? >> it is. they're running it down to a different point. about a week ago, i was saying

they have to get the tax returns out. what i realize now that we're more than halfway through the month, they get a reset every time the monthly job numbers come out. the conversation changes. so now here's this trip coming up to the middle east. then to london. by the time he comes back, we get job numbers out. then we have the convention. job numbers come out. so it is a very good strategy if there are things worth not revealing in those tax returns. >> all right. jonathon, the romney team came out with a response to the l.a. times and the chicago trib to what he's saying. president obama's own job council advocated for investment from around the globe in the u.s. to help grow our economy. something the president has been unable to do as illustrated by the downgrades in gdp forecasts. how the investors choose to invest in their decision or invest is their decision, not bain capital's. this is all talking about the fact that now reports have shown how bain was started by panama money, foreign money sources. is this a legitimate argument to

have? >> it's all legitimate because it gets to who these people are, how they made their money. how they could possibly run things as president. but look, mitt romney is whacking away at president obama's achilles heel, which is jobs. the weak economy and the fact that jobs just aren't growing as fast as the american people would like. president obama is whacking away at mitt romney's achilles heel over the tax issue, over his lack of disclosure and you know, i agree with susan that there will be a reset button hit strategically advantageously for mitt romney. but i say ultimately, this tax return issue is an issue that's not going to go away. it just isn't. if the romney campaign doesn't do something before the debates, he's going to get whacked really, really hard. because this gets to -- the overall issue of transparency.

whether you can trust the person who you are hoping -- who is asking you for your vote, that he's being transparent about how he's made his money. >> what is the job application? >> something else to keep in mind. during the attacks, we've seen polls come out. they're going to be in a dead heat going forward. no doubt about it. there are numbers that people like me look at. the number 50. how close are you and how far from it are you? >> the president dropped to 39% approval of the economy. and the 36% approval favorability. now, that is really working against him. even if you assume it's a little high, it's hovering around 40. he used to be 50-plus. so -- then you see romney at 49% on the economy. this strategy is not working to president obama's strengths right now. >> it's a tight race. we'll continue to watch. i have to run. but it's great to have all three of you here. i appreciate it. our power panel for thursday.

jonathan cape heart, jimmy williams and susan dell percent yoe. >> that was the reason he shot and killed trayvon martin. trayvon's parents question that claim. i'm going to talk with their attorney. plus the violence continues in syria. but where is president assad? is this the beginning of the end for his regime in and then, did you see this? a spectacular light show with the heavy rain in the northeast. is there some relief from the heat in sight? we'll talk about that and if you want to weigh in on today's show, you can tweet me and join the conversation at thomasa roberts. do you know who this is? dig back to the cassette tapes. 1982. billy idol. [ male announcer ] this is anna, her long day teaching the perfect swing begins with back pain and a choice. take advil, and maybe have to take up to four in a day. or take aleve, which can relieve pain all day with just two pills. good eye.

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one outraged response from

trayvon martin's family to the first public interview with the accused shooter of trayvon. sitting with his attorney on fox newschannel's hannity. george zimmerman said he had no regrets about how he behaved on the night he allegedly shot the teen. he then offered an apology to martin's family and the country. >> do you regret getting out of the car to follow trayvon that night? >> no, sir. >> do you regret that you had a gun that night? >> no, sir. i feel it was all god's plan and for me to second-guess it or judge it -- >> is there anything you might do differently in retrospect now that time has passed a little bit? >> no, sir. but i'm sorry that this happened. i hate to think that because of this incident, because of my actions, it's polarized and divided america, and i'm truly sorry. >> in a family statement, trayvon's father, tracy, said we must worship a different god because there is no way that my

god would have want the george zimmerman to kill my son. darryl parks is one of the attorneys representing the family of trayvon martin. he joins us now. after seeing that interview and i'm sure that you along with mr. crump and the family have watched that. what is the overall reaction to the interview and the way that george zimmerman discussed that evening where trayvon martin lost his life? >> we are appalled. at the end of the day, as you listen to the whole interview, george zimmerman never really takes full responsibility for his actions. so it's as if he believes that he had the right to follow trayvon, to stalk trayvon and that trayvon didn't have the right to be where he was. he doesn't have any regrets. takes no responsibilities for his actions. we're very appalled by that. >> during one exchange, hannity suggested that zimmerman's account of trayvon martin's behavior, from what he told police dispatchers, take a listen to this. >> tried to maybe get in the

mind-set. we've learned that trayvon was speaking to his girlfriend supposedly at the time, maybe he was afraid of you, didn't know who you were? >> no. >> why do you think that he was running then? >> maybe i said running. but he was more -- >> you said he was running. >> yes. like skipping, going away quickly. but that he wasn't running out of fear. >> you could tell the difference? >> he wasn't running. >> he wasn't actually running? >> no, sir. >> because that's what you said to the dispatcher. you thought he was running. >> sir, what are your thoughts on that and the type of contradiction that it allows for what we know from the police records so favre the case? >> well, it defies logic. also, remember trayvon is not from this particular complex. if you're a kid, you're walking home at night from the store and you see a guy who is driving looking at you, you should be scared. so for him to say that trayvon

was not afraid, how does he know that? he has no way of knowing whether trayvon was afraid or not. common sense tells us if some person is watching you while you're walking, if he's in a vehicle, he has to go at a slower rate of speed to see a person who is walking. at the end of the day, we really think that most people will see this for what it really is. it's a chance by them to try and do some damage control from the other evidence that happened earlier in this week. >> legally speaking, are there concerns that you have about how the content of this interview might affect the martin family's case. >> i think it's great for the prosecution. i mean, to get an interview like this here where he says many, many different statement that's going to allow him to be cross-examined by the prosecutors, my law partner said it best. they have plenty more to work with. they had plenty before but now they have a gift today. >> martin family attorney, darryl parks, appreciate your

time. thank you. record heat setting off a stormy light show in new york city last night. wait until you see this. take a look. plasma lightning striking a skyscraper antenna not far from nbc headquarters at 30 rock. for those of us who were here, it wasn't fun. it set off a geyser in the subway system drenching riders who tried to board their train. this time lapse video is showing what it looked like from the top of the rock. shows just how fast this storm moved through town. ♪ the one and only, cheerios

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activist among the first to raise awareness by both mainstream society and hollywood. >> if you're going to talk about the gay rights movement, you talk about him. >> when do you get angry? >> something natural couldn't be wrong. >> these people are debating whether you have the right to live. you're not part of the discussion. >> he was the first person to write about how hollywood treated homosexuals. >> i remember vito as our first gay celebrity. >> whether i live or whether i die, i fight. >> he took a stand. he is our gay hero. >> jeffrey schwartz is the producer and director of the documentary and joins me in studio. we gave everybody a sneak peek there. jeffrey, it's nice to have you here. as we were talking about in the break, this has been a labor of love for 20 years to get this made. why is that? >> i read the book that vito wrote that came out in 1981. it's probably the book that he's most famous for. it was a book that talked about how gay and lesbian characters

were characterized on screen when he wrote the book. we were presented in ways that were not always so pretty. we were presented as psychopaths and serial killers or suicide victims. usually the gay or lesbian character was killed at the end of movie or the comic relief. vito was the first person to see how we were portrayed and did damage to the community. >> in bringing this documentary to life on hbo, was there a pivotal moment where vito shot to the forefront to become a collective guide to the lbgt movement. >> he joined the gay liberation movement. it was during the gay liberation movement that he really got in touch with his true nature and his calling as an out gay person. this was an unusual avant-garde thing to be, to be out. he put himself out there of how to live an openly gay life and the sky doesn't fall on you. in the aids crisis, he put

himself out there with the aids wanting to make the disease visible. at a time when there was great hysteria and misinformation and fear. >> what would you think he would say about your movement today, this iconic hero, a modern day lgbt voice. the community doesn't have. a lot of big historic leaders. he's coming to the forefront. >> part of the reason i made vito is to invigorate his memory and introduce him to kids who might not have heard of him. in telling the story, it was an opportunity to tell the story of the gay and lesbian civil rights movement through the aids crisis. >>. >> people can check this out. it's on monday, 9:00 p.m. eastern on hbo. the movie documentary called vito. jeffrey schwartz the director producer. great to have you. president obama is taking a hit in the polls, especially when it comes to the economy. what is the plan to get back on track? the dnc communications director

is going to join me next to talk about that. plus, a really close call. a frightening moment for a young girl. it's all caught on camera. that and much more after this. the calcium they take because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption. use the points we earn with our citi thankyou card for a relaxing vacation. ♪ sometimes, we go for a ride in the park. maybe do a little sightseeing. or, get some fresh air. but this summer, we used our thank youpoints to just hang out with a few friends in london. [ male announcer ] the citi thankyou visa card.

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redee[romney singing]: ohearned to beautiful, for spaciousions. skies, i'm barack obama and i approve this message. for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesty, above the fruited plain, america, america, god shed his grace on thee,

and crowned thy good, with brotherhood... jabs, jobs and taxes. romney and the gop are fighting fire with fire responding to hits on taxes and bain with jabs on jobs and small business. let me ask you this. did you build your business. if you did, raise your hand. >> take that, mr. president. joining me now is brad woodhouse of the democratic national committee. brad, nice to see you today. i'd like your reaction to this one-two punch of the web videos making the rounds. targeting the president on business owners and job operation and creation. the other from the rmc on a politico report saying the president hasn't met with his jobs council for six months. >> sure. first of all, the rnc video, what a voek, thomas. i mean, the jobs council recomm

think 82 recommendations, 70 of those recommendations the president has forwarded on to congress in some form or fashion. actually, most of them are in a bill to create jobs that mitt romney opposes. i mean, it's no wonder that mitt romney wants t jobs council to meet again. he opposes the recommendations that they came up with. the job council has done its work and now congress needs to do its job. with respect to the other charge, it's been shown to be completely above the -- off the pale. the president said in his remarks, he was talking about roads and bridges and the internet. they've clipped his remarks to totally distort them. that shouldn't be a surprise coming from a romney campaign. they do this all the time. >> i want to talk but about this wall street journal report out with a piece today titled the obama's bain connection. here's a quote from one of those connections. saying according to the dow jones lp source investors in

bain have included columbia, as well as michelle obama's princeton, a 2008 journal story noted that harvard where the obama's received their law degrees invested with bain. isn't it disingenuous to keep vilifying bain and romney's involvement with it as co-founder? >> not at all. i am befuddled what that's supposed to mean. we've said from the beginning, we're not attacking private equity and its contribution to the economy. what we've said is that mitt romney should come clean about his involvement. mitt romney has tried to mislead the american people about his tenure at bain. he's tried to mislead the american people about how private equity operates and what its central goal is, which is to make profits for his investors. he's tried to say he was involved in job creation. we now know that wasn't true. mitt romney put the issue on the table claiming it is a central qualification to be president of the united states.

he should just own it and he should admit what private equity does, admit what he was doing there and be honest about his tenure there. >> brad, we need to go back to this politico report saying that the president has not met with his job council over the last six months. obviously, jobs and job creation in this country has been softening as the year has been aging. it is a problem and an on vus achilles heel for the president. why is the white house and the president not taking a more strategic approach so they don't have a weak spot for the right to hit them on? >> i'm tell what you the president has done. he's been campaigning for a jobs bill that create a million jobs in this economy right away. republicans are refusing to bring it up. they voted 33 times in the house, thomas, to roll back the affordable care act. but they haven't voted one time on the president's jobs bill. the president now is taking some action on his own to try to spur

economic growth, including an announcement on port construction in jacksonville and miami today where congress won't act. the president will act on his own. the problem is the republicans would rather see the economy slow to win an election than just to help the economy grow and just let the election take care of itself. >> is that -- because that's a strong accusation to make that the republicans would rather see americans suffer and see our economy fail than to do something and act within congress to help within the time period that we're living in now until the election in november. >> well, look, absolutely stand by it. look, it was senator mcconnell who said his number one priority was defeating this president. he didn't say the number one priority was creating jobs. michele bachmann famously said during the primaries as the unemployment numbers goes up, it helps republicans. they've been transparent about this. if they did care about creating jobs, they'd do something about it. but the house-sat on the president's jobs bill even though these are proposals that

received broad bipartisan support in the past. >> brad woodhouse from the dnc. great to see you this morning. >> thank you, thomas. >> absolutely. government troops in syria are fighting back against rebels after this bold bombing that killed three of president bashar assad's top security aides in damascus. there's been no sign of assad since that attack. reuters reports he's in the city of latakia. we're joined from cairo with more on this. is there a confirmation on assad's location and in looking at what's taken place now, should the international community see this as a turning point that's been reached in the conflict there? >> thomas, we'll start with the president on that one. there is no clear indication where the president is. though except recently in the last few minutes, syrian state television is saying he did attend a swearing in ceremony of the new defense minister and they have released pictures of

him, the defense minister taking that oath of office in front of the president. where that took place, though, remains mysterious for the time being. there are reports that the president's family have gone to the coastal city and he's no longer in the capital. though, as we're saying, that is at this stage unconfirmed. according to eyewitness and activists on the ground, many people believe this is the tipping point in the conflict. they're not saying it's the end but it could be the beginning of the end because the rebels have made key advances into the heart of the capital and the seed of the power. it has hall challenged the regime to fight for survival. >> a men, thanks so much. here's a look at our stories topping the news. bulgarian officials say the man suspected in a bloody suicide attack was carrying a fake michigan driver's license. seven people plus the alleged attacker were killed yesterday when a bomb exploded on a bus carrying israeli tourists. police are analyzing fingerprints and dna. investigators in iowa are

looking at a landfill in their search for two missing cousins. elizabeth collins and lyric cook morrissey were last seen on friday. a trash collecting company has been asked to -- authorities are also draining a nearby lake where the kids were last seen. philadelphia police are looking for the man seen in this terrifying surveillance video allegedly trying to abduct a 10-year-old girl. you see it on the top left of your screen. it happened as she walked her little brother in broad daylight. the video showing the suspect getting out of the car, follow the children and try to grab the little girl. he took off seconds later. u.s. cities continue to make extreme moves in the face of mounting economic pressure. hundreds of city workers in pennsylvania including firefighters will receive full paychecks tomorrow. two weeks after having their pay slashed to minimum wage. meanwhile, the l.a. times reporting that officials in compton, california are considering filing for bankrupt sip. it would be the fourth city in

california to do so. president obama has a commanding lead over mitt romney when it comes to the latino vote. over 40%. could voter i.d. laws hurt voter turnout ultimately. plus, false advertising. how a gay couple's engagement photo ended up on an anti-gay political ad. you can always join in on the conversation. send me a tweet. love to hear from you. [ donovan ] i hit a wall. and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master's degree for tomorrow's careers. this is your moment. let nothing stand in your way. devry university, proud to support the education

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this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. so a same sex couple outraged on the verge of suing after one of their engagement pictures was used in an anti-gay political -- it shows them kissing in front of the new york city skyline. but without their knowledge, the group public advocate of the united states took that picture, altered it to add a snowy background and the words state

senator gene white's idea of values. white is a senator who just lost her primary. she voted in favor of civil unions of same sex couples. with me are brian edwards with their attorney christine sun who joins the conversation from san francisco as well. it's great to have all of you here. brian, how did you become aware that your image, your photo, beautiful photo, something you were probably excited about, but how did you realize that it was used in this way? >> i got an e-mail from a friend who saw the attack ad in a daily news article. >> so what did you do the moment that happened? >> i rushed home, i started looking on the internet to see if i could find more information about how this came to be and what it was used for. i found an article by lynn bartels of the denver post about these attack ads at colorado and

we called ms. bartels and spoke to her on the phone. >> here you guys are in new york, your image is being used to create nasty political campaigns taking place within colorado without your permission. tom, you brian and your photographer, you have now taken action to make sure that this image is not used. what is the response as you tried to complain about the use of the -- their use of this photo and the inappropriate manner in which it was used for what it was trying to prove politically? >> the response from the general public has been outstanding. we've been getting so many messages of support and love thrown our way, it's been great. the response from the public advocate of the u.s., that i'm not sure on. probably something christine can answer a little better than we can. >> let's talk about the president of public advocate of the u.s. told abc news last week "i am searching whether or not we have the photo. this may be the first objection in 30 years. frankly, we are not distributing

this photo and would be hard-pressed to find anything today. mostly, this is an attack on me from previous statements that i have made." christine, legally what rights does tom and brian have in trying to make sure that this image is not used in a way that is against what it was originally intended for, a celebration of their marriage. >> tom and brian have rights not to have their image misappropriated for uses that they didn't authorize. certainly, it seems pretty clear that a couple does not want their engagement photo to be used in a political attack ad. we're representing tom and brian and also the photographer. >> how has the group responded to you, though? what's the next step? >> we're waiting for a response directly. unfortunately, mr. dell gaud yoe has resorted to name calling instead of taking accountability for his actions. calling the poverty law center a prehistoric dinosaur.

instead of taking accountability for his actions and saying that he will stop using the photo. >> guys, so married life, other than this, is going well so far? >> yes. it's wonderful. yeah. >> we'll keep our eyes on this and see what happens. but obviously the image not being used in the way that it was intended for. christine, thank you, tom and pry an thank you for sharing your story with us. the morgan freeman, the new million dollar man. the actor donated a million dollars to president obama's super pac. priorities usa action. here's why. "president obama has done a remarkable job in historically difficult circumstances. he's led our nation to be more tolerant and placed impressive. in return he's the target of hundreds of millions of dollars from right wing sources. when he told the npr that president obama was not america's first black president was the first mixed race president. speaking of super pacs, we'll

soon be able to find out which ads are paid for by pacs. it's going to be available in the itunes store soon and it will be free for you. supreme court justice scalia sets the record straight about the so-called falling out with chief justice john roberts over the health care decision. >> do you drink now, by the way? >> sometimes. >> good for you. >> when was the last time you -- when is the last time you just got wasted? >> we'll have that sound bite for you. apparently scalia said there were clashes on the legal questions, however, there is nothing personal. no ongoing feud. backtracking on bain, radio talk show host lush limbaugh denying his batman dark knight rising, mitt romney's ties to it. he went on to say that batman movies are more conservative in terms of right and wrong. they say politics, well, it does make strange bed fellows. it doesn't get stranger than this. newt gingrich and snooki,

moderator jay leno. >> do you drink, newt, by the way? >> sometimes. >> good for you. >> when is the last time -- [ laughter ] >> when is the last time you got wasted? was there a time -- >> thinking about coming on this show. the aarp has great tips on staying healthy on the high seas. avoid see sickness. have anti-nausea medication before leaving. the sun is stronger at sea, avoid some stomach bugs and nanoviruses by washing hands before meals. eat only thoroughly cooked foods. >> brought to you by aleve. try aleve for relief from tough headaches. afternoon's overhaul starts with more pain. more pills. triple checking hydraulics. the evening brings more pain. so, back to more pills. almost done, when...

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it's a sideshow. that's all it is. the american people are asking the question, where are the jobs? they're not asking, where are the tax returns? it's a sideshow created because the president can't talk about his record. he can't go out and run on his record so he has to create these sideshows to try to distract the american people from the real issue. >> house speaker john boehner slamming president obama's

campaign own his attacks regarding mitt romney's tax returns. we have yet to see if the president's strategy will work in the battleground states, he's winning one demographic by a huge margin, latinos. the latino decisions poll showing president obama winning 70% of the latino vote. now, for romney, it's 22% of the vote. and if the margin is slightly wider in the swing states, president obama's team tweeted those results, which jim messina exclaiming, quote, widening lead in latino decisions poll, obama 71%, romney 21% in battleground states. si se puede. joining me, senior analyst for latino decisions. in this article describing the poll for latino decisions it says this, the lingering question is not whether obama will win the latino vote. he's poised to win it big, but whether latino voters turn out, matches or exceeds the levels of 2008 or if latino enthusiasm will be low and turn out

mediocre at best. what do you think the research is going to predict with therat >> there's good news and bad news. good news, we've ben levels of support we haven't seen over two years. he's back to the level of support he had in 2008. remember, he had 70% of the latino vote. the bad news, though, is one out of five latinos still supports romney. you would think that after being bashed over the head with anti-immigrant legislation for two years he'd be in the single digits and he's not. especially among men. we see a gender differential here. >> we we talk about suppression and issues of voter suppression taking place, coming up in the fall, at least ten states with strict voter i.d. laws. how worried are latino leaders that that is going to affect who comes out and who feels an enthusiasm to show up at the polls? not only because they want their voice to be heard, but because they want to be a part of an important process. >> well, that's the other piece of bad news. the suppression element of it. also the fact we're not seeing the same registration rates. between 2004 and 2008 we saw

latino registration grow by 28%. over the past three years we've only seen it grow 10%. we're seeing potentially record low levels of latino turnout going into the election. it doesn't matter how much support you have. 70%, 75%, but are you going to turn out? that's what matters. >> it might be an uphill climb. mitt romney released his ninth tv ad in spanish yesterday. let's take a listen. [ speaking spanish ] >> so that was mitt romney's son who was delivering that message. he was talking about how his grandfather was born in mexico and how as president his father will work on a permanent solution for immigration. you bring up the point there really hasn't been anything tangible to talk about coming from mitt romney's campaign, a muddled message on that front. >> he has. he softened his approach in the past couple months. no more talk of self-deportation. we've also seen the launching of

latino targeted site by the campaign and this ad where he's saying i'm going to put into place a long term and bipartisan solution. we see him wanting to get his toe in the door with the latino vote to gain a competitive advantage in states like new mexico, colorado and arizona where if he can gain a couple percentage points that could put it staunchly in his column. >> all right. they still see the advantage in making sure the voices are gone after and listened to in victoria, thanks. head over to the website for more on politics and culture. that's going to wrap it up for me. i'll see you tomorrow. until then follow me @thomasa roberts on twitter. will the poll numbers move? we'll discuss the battle between policy and person. plus mccarthyism 2.0.

muslim brotherhood conspiracy theories, racial stereotyping and fear mongering. pulling our country back from the brink. and one of "time's" 100 most influential people is here. all that and more coming up when "now" starts in a mere 180 seconds. you get quality services on your terms, with total customer support, backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee. so go to legalzoom.com today and see for yourself.

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or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. still unenthusiastic about releasing his self-described hundreds or thousands of pages of tax returns, governor romney's instead trying to change the debate by making t-shirts that distort comments made by president obama. here's what they don't say. i put $250 mil in an offshore account and all i got was this lousy t-shirt. it's thursday, july 19th and this is "now." joining me today, "rolling